Fourth July Blog

substance in another, usually gas in a liquid
Soap bubble, a bubble formed by a type of soapy water (a thin film of liquid)
Antibubble, a droplet of liquid surrounded by a thin film of gas
Microbubbles, are bubbles smaller than one millimetre in diameter, but larger than one micrometre
A very mundane description of really delightful transient occupiers of space.

I suppose our first introduction to bubbles are those in our childhood bathtubs. Mums and dads, sisters, brothers, scooping up handfuls of soapy or liquid bubble water, making a hole with our fingers and thumbs, and blowing.

Sometimes we get beautiful rainbow bubbles ( especially if we buy that washing liquid with the bubbles on the bottle). But often, all we get is a splat in the eye as the intended bubble bursts before a sphere is formed. With the special stuff, all we do is laugh amd try again. Soapy water means stinging tears, but not for long and we soon try again.

Next comes the wand. Again, in the old days, it was soapy water. Did not always work, but fun trying. The problem here was getting the water soapy enough. End of and just after World War Two, the soap was poor quality.

In modern times, you buy a can of liquid containing a wand, and away you go. Children never cease to be amused by such innocent games. The best being those huge wands that create bubbles larger than a football. Terrific fun to see those great beauties dancing high into the air, blown along by a light breeze. Suddenly, splat. Into a tree branch. Ahhhh! We all sigh!

Have you ever seen a dog pouncing on these soapy globes? Or even better, a cat as he/she stalks the transparent entity, swaying delicately on the carpet tufts. The ribbons of colour swirl as the feline wafts the tiniest scrap of air, then swipes. It bursts. The cat jumps back, aghast! Next time, it will have its measure, or will it? These felines can be fooled. Think of the red pinpoint light. It chases and chases, never quite catching. Oh well, back to bubbles.

Other bubbles are much more solid. The bubble helmet an astronaut wears. Based entirely upon the fragile soap bubble, no doubt. Totally necessary and entirely fit for its purpose. What else would we have used?

Modern man cannot be the only ones to have looked at bubbles -along the shoreline, hot mud blips or tarpits, escaping from mouths underwater – like those from fish, the washerwomen of their day, scrubbing in a tub, delighting in some kind of bubble, however small, however fleeting, and thought, ‘now there is something ustrange and unusual. I wonder what we could do with such an entity?’ Surely this must have happened? Sonehere, sometime, a cartoon blip with a Question Mark inside it?
Balloons! They are but bubbles, made of sterner stuff. Filled with breath or that chemical that makes the voice become squeaky, or very deep. Lovely for parties, joillity of all kinds, to celebrate a special day or event. But wait, even more importantly, the balloons –

****>The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozierand François Laurent d’Arlandes on November 21, 1783, in Paris, France,[1] in a balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers.[2] Hot air balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than simply drifting with the wind are known as thermal airships.<****

So, that full globe or half sphere that Nature put in our paths, for fun, for flight, for future, may have been the greatest Natural invention.
Bubblicious Fae.

The nymphe alights upon a sphere,
Her wings, of rainbow hue,
Reflections in the bubble, clear,
Her dress of green and blue.
She wears her gown with striking pose,
And in her woodland, gay,
She’s sweeter than the garden rose
That blossoms every day.
Myriad are the bubbles blown
From fish and woodland spright,
They gather in the misty gloam
That follows deepest night.
And elfin friends who dance about
Are cherished in their glade,
And treetop birds, with fairies, shout,
To friends, down in the shade.
The stream now bubbles like a song,
Its merry twinkling sound
Helps the nymphs and elves along
As they dance a merry round.
Rainbow circles floating high,
Convey a happy thought,
They pop and spill with bare a sigh,
And always come to nought.